Tagged!

I was tagged by Lola and Amreta to tell 7 facts/habits about myself. So here goes:

1. I used to have a serious myopia, until I had Lasik when Natassja (my first child) was around 5 months old. Note: serious myopia doesn't come handy during night feedings.

2. I refuse to be sad or unhappy. That's how I cheer up myself. Pathetic, huh? ;-) oh well, maybe a dose of retail therapy and a higher sugar intake would do, too. Haha.

3. I enjoy moments and knowledge. I like taking short courses, just for the sake of "experiencing" and "knowing". So yes, my curiosity is expensive. But hey, life is too short.

4. I'm paranoid about the health of my daughters' eyesight and teeth. Why? Read No.1, plus I have the worst teeth in the family. They decay easily. Hm, alright.. you can stop imagining me without teeth now, please.

5. My nickname is Ida. Even though "Imelda" is my first name, nobody (except school teachers) called me by that name until I was in college. You could call me, Ida or Imelda. It really doesn't matter. But nothing else. :)

6. I'm a sensitive, fierce and messy person, who loves a good sense of humour. Hmmm?

7. I seldom watch TV or listen to music. My husband and I watch TV only when the children are not bouncing, climbing, drawing, playing or sitting on the couch. And I listen to music only when I drive.

Thanks to Lola and Amreta for tagging me. It's always fun to play along, but I hope both of you don't mind if I break the rules by not tagging anybody else. Everybody I know is either in holiday, or getting ready for the summer holiday. :)

They are here!

Remember this? Well guess what..., they are finally here in Singapore!!

Sofia wrote to me around mid April, telling me that she was coming to Singapore for holiday. So I suggested that we meet up, and we did! :) We had a nice lunch over at the Tanglin Mall, and we talked about numerous things like the blogs we love, our families, our countries, and of course, her lovely wall decals. :) To be honest, I was kinda nervous about the meeting at first, but Sofia was such a wonderful person to talk to, so the whole meeting became a real pleasant experience. It was nice to see you, Sofia!

Today, you can find her lovely butterflies and dragonflies (available in pink, blue, or green) at Molecule Great World City and Molecule Marina Square. For the duo bambis, you'll have to wait a little longer. ;-)

Don't miss Sofia's upcoming exhibition at the Pulse 2007, Earls Court, London, from June 3 till June 7, 2007!!

Sen-Sen, Denmark

Here's another Danish link. ;-) I was first introduced to Sen-Sen by Sidsel of Spagat, sometime last year. It's pretty obvious that the textile designers duo behind Sen-Sen, Helene Jensen and Trine Runge Jessen, love to work with black and white.


You can see the B&W pillows, picnicware, and wall stickers dominating their site, with some colorful/metallic items alongside. Don't forget to check out their Extras pages, too, where you can download free gift tags and screensavers. Have fun!

Love these...

Karen Geraldi

I've just learnt about Karen Geraldi via Lena's blog, and found this amazing floor-to-ceiling drawing installation of hers. I wish I could draw like THAT! :) Don't miss Karen Geraldi's upcoming paper and fabric constructions show in South Portland, Maine!

Zeger Reyers

White Mosa porcelain installation by Dutch artist Zeger Reyers, found via Dear Ada, via HannyB's flickr.


Nantaka Joy

Have you seen Joy's new stationery line, Nantaka Joy? They are FABULOUS!!! Congrats to Joy!


Vecteezy

Vecteezy is an index of Free Vectors available for download, created by some of the best designers around the world. Found via Spagat, via swissmiss.

Mow Living, Denmark

Mow Living is a design and home textile producer firm, founded by Katrine Mow and Kristian Jacobsen in 2004. They have international stockists from Berlin, to London, to Dubai. If you had problem browsing their products on their website, not too worry, you could see most of them on Marstrands, another great Danish online shop. Enjoy!

(images from Marstrands)

Zensing, Denmark

Another Danish company, Zensing, specializing in import and wholesale of silk cushion covers and table runners. They don't list their stockists on the website, but you could always email them and ask. :)

Ziestha, Denmark

Here's one textile company from Denmark, Ziestha. Check out their patterns for Kids and Home. Too bad the site is in Danish, but it sure offers some visual delights! :)

Exhibitions

HauteGREEN, New York City, USA

Got a tip from Cj, telling me about her upcoming exhibition at the HauteGREEN show in New York City, May 19-21, 2007. HauteGREEN is a curated exhibition of sustainable furniture, lighting, and housewares. Cj will have her 'feeding desire' plates featured there. Have a look on the HauteGREEN designers showcase here. Tons of great products, and you'll get a chance to meet the designers!! *sigh* I wish I could be there. Thanks, Cj!

Cockpit Arts Open Studio, Holborn, UK

Cockpit Arts is the largest creative hub for designer-makers in the UK, and Flavia Del Pra will be at their Open Studio Holborn on May 31 to June 3, 2007. Flavia's gorgeous ceramic lamps will be at the 'Developing Professional Practice' Graduate Showcase. Have a visit, okay? :) Thanks, Flavia!

Have a great weekend!

Thank you!

Since I've been getting quite a lot of information for our Scandinavian trip in June, I thought I'd share some useful links with all of you for your future reference. All thanks to Sidsel, Sia, Alicia, Amreta, Rare Autumn, Purple Area, Emma, Gaile, Katariina, and hours of browsing the net. ;-)

Useful links for Scandinavian Trip

Transport

• Euro Railways, its timetable & route planner come quite handy to figure out how long your train journey takes.
• Tiger Car Rental
• Scandinavian Airlines
• FinnAir
• Viking Line, ferry service between Finland, Sweden and Estonia.
• Silja Line, cruises to and from Finland.
• Scandlines, ferries between Germany, Denmark ,Sweden and the Baltic States.

Hotel Reservation & Reviews
TripAdvisor, Venere.com, hotels.com

Amusement Parks

• Tivoli Gardens, Denmark.
• Liseberg, the greatest amusement park in Scandinavia.
• Tivoli Grona Lund, the oldest amusement park in Sweden.

Museums

• Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark.
• ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, Denmark.
• Danish Design Centre, Denmark.
• Kunst Industri Museet, Denmark.
• Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Finland.
• DesignMuseo, Finland - I ordered online from their shop before, so it'd be great to visit the museum (and the shop!) personally.
• Tampere Art Museum - Moominvalley, Finland.
• Alvar Aalto, Finland.
• Skansen, Sweden.
• Moderna Museet, Sweden.
• Nordiska Museet, Sweden.
• The Vasa Museum, Sweden.

Visitor Guides

• Sweden: Stockholmtown, Goteborg, Visit Sweden
• Denmark: Visit Denmark, VisitCopenhagen.com, Copenhagen This Week
• Helsinki: Helsinki, Visit Finland, Design District Helsinki, Virtual Finland

Shopping Guides (shops & flea markets)
Stockholm Shopping, Wikitravel - Helsinki, Fashion Finland - Shopping, Copenhagen This Week - Shopping.

and don't forget to check out Emma's Stockholm Guide!

Happy browsing!

travel planning, pls help!

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, I'm preoccupied with some travel plans for our coming trip in June. Sadly I have to miss tons of great blog reads for a little while. :( So these days, I spend my browsing time on hotel reservations, tourist attractions and car rentals sites, with a permanent display of tripadvisor on the side, of course.

We (me, dear husband, and our loud-but-adorable Natassja) will be visiting Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Helsinki in our 12-days trip there. Our ticket is roundtrip to Copenhagen, and we're trying to figure out where we should start our trip first. Since we'll reach Copenhagen at 07.55am (not exactly a good check-in to hotel timing), we thought it'd be better if we'd just catch another flight on that day to Helsinki. So it'll be Helsinki, Stockholm, then Copenhagen. What do you think? What are the best transportation between these countries (in terms of price, time and fun!)

Could anybody suggest any scenic routes from Stockholm to Malmo? We're planning to spend more days in Sweden since we prefer to do some road trips there. But with limited holiday time, we need reassurance if we pick the right choice. Which country do you think worth exploring more? Any must-visit places, or must-try food or drinks?

I appreciate if you could share some travel tips on those countries, too. Please, please help, okay, please.... Thanks beforehand. Btw, in case if you're wondering, we'll leave our youngest daughter, the sweet-and-not-so-loud Tamara, with my parent in-laws. Millions thanks to them! :)

Oh and of course, as always, you can find great reads on my sidebar links. Follow this instruction carefully, roll your eyes slightly to the right. ;-) ------->

great thanks to Sidsel for the tips on Copenhagen & Sweden!